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s malls struggle to recover from the pandemic, a new wave of retailers is emerging to fill the retail void. One such player is Panda Mart, a South African discount retailer that has leased part of a former Sears store in Orange, California. Transformco Properties, owned by Eddie Lampert and operator of what remains of the Sears retail empire, has leased out an unspecified section of the 278,000-square-foot mall to Panda Mart.

    Panda Mart, which operates over 100 stores outside the US, is expected to be its first store in the country. The heavily discounted retailer sells a wide range of products, from household goods and furniture to electronics and beauty products. According to reports, Panda Mart sources most of its products from China-based wholesale distributors, including Yiwu, the largest wholesale market in China.

    The opening of Panda Mart has sparked mixed reactions among Orange County residents, with some criticizing it as "more crap from China" while others see it as a welcome addition to the area. The store's arrival is also expected to give Walmart, one of the last remaining tenants at the mall, a run for its money. The Village at Orange mall, which closed its interior in January and underwent partial demolition this summer, has been proposed for housing development, but the status of the project remains unclear.